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This^^
We rent a home for 2 months in FL during the winter. We’ve rented 3 different homes in Sarasota over the years. We usually do the snowbird thing every other year. Each home we rented had its own pros and cons, but each was spacious, clean, and reasonably priced. We’ve also made good friends with the owners.
Travel for us (and our cat) consisted of a 1250 mile drive, staying over 2 nights. 3 days on the road were long forgotten once we unpacked.
Since our cat passed earlier this year, we’re taking the Auto Train down to FL and eliminating ~800 miles of driving.
The only way I would consider buying a condo/home in FL, would be if we wanted to stay more then 3 months.
How do you find places to rent in Florida for 2 months? I hate the cold winters here in New England.
My wife and I live in northern Michigan and are nearing retirement. We like the change of seasons and it is very nice here about 4-5 months a year. The problem is the other months. We are debating to snowbird a few months of the year or to relocate to an area with more moderate winters and at least some more sunshine. Please, anyone who has made this decision or has other suggestions or destination ideas comment away !!. Thanks.
I don't like the idea of leaving a house unoccupied during mid-winter when things freeze quickly if heat fails.
Now, just IMHO, I don't like the Midwest's climate at all, so I wouldn't hesitate to cut loose from MI and move. If you want a snowy winter try Idaho. I am personally pretty happy with Eastern WA, a dry steppe with a lot of sunny days (most who have never been here think the entire PNW area is like Seattle - not true.)
For me, leaving a house empty for months at a time has too many risks and issues. If you have family or friends on both ends who can watch your home it becomes possible. However, there's still the issue of insurance to consider. Insurance companies do not like empty houses.
For sunshine and a more moderate climate I'll toss out Santa Fe or Taos as possibilities. You can look up temperature histories on weather.gov, or on weather underground (I haven't used that one in a while, though). In Arizona my choice would be Flagstaff. It does get snow in the winter, but Sedona is a short drive and much lower in elevation so it's easy to get out of the worst cold for a day as long as you're able to drive. There are lots of smallish towns in Colorado to consider, but many are near ski resorts and therefore quite expensive, and access to healthcare specialists can be an issue. Pretty much all of these towns get significant tourist traffic. You'd have to visit during the tourist season yourself to see if this is a deal breaker.
How do you find places to rent in Florida for 2 months? I hate the cold winters here in New England.
The internet...vbro, airbnb, some realtors also deal with seasonal rentals.
Some hotels/motels also offer monthly rates.
When I moved here I had no home and stayed in a mom & pop motel for 3 months until I found a place to live.
It was an efficiency and I paid monthly. It was offseason and very cheap and right across the street from the beach.
I got to meet a lot of nice folks during that time who came and went.
For me, leaving a house empty for months at a time has too many risks and issues. If you have family or friends on both ends who can watch your home it becomes possible. However, there's still the issue of insurance to consider. Insurance companies do not like empty houses.
For sunshine and a more moderate climate I'll toss out Santa Fe or Taos as possibilities. You can look up temperature histories on weather.gov, or on weather underground (I haven't used that one in a while, though). In Arizona my choice would be Flagstaff. It does get snow in the winter, but Sedona is a short drive and much lower in elevation so it's easy to get out of the worst cold for a day as long as you're able to drive. There are lots of smallish towns in Colorado to consider, but many are near ski resorts and therefore quite expensive, and access to healthcare specialists can be an issue. Pretty much all of these towns get significant tourist traffic. You'd have to visit during the tourist season yourself to see if this is a deal breaker.
You could go as far as to say insurance companies, who make their money by accurately estimating risk, don't like empty houses and have good reason for their opinion. Like when a low-hours private pilot starts thinking he wants a Bonanza, his estimate for annual insurance will be quite high compared to someone with the experience to belong in the left seat on said Bonanza. Because the insurance company perceives considerable risk of loss with that inexperienced pilot, based on experience.
We live in upstate NY, and I don't mind the cold as much as the snow.
IBM transferred my father here, and he retired in place.
He says "the snow is not a bother...unless you have to go out in it"..and spouse (s) and I DO.
S is semi retired, I had to retire from a store where standing on that concrete floor for my 4 hour shift, wanted to transfer to cashier but no openings.
Hoping to find part time sit job, so I'll be semi retired then too.
We both have severe pain issues in wet weather any time of year (I have a bad back, hips and knees...will need hip replacement soon) (S just had back surgery and has Paget's bone disease, also will need hip replacement and both have arthritis and osteoporosis)
Real problem is the amount of snow storms and Nor'easter s...I mean on bare ground we've had 35" fall in 9 hours, and a whopping 43" (yes you read that right: FORTY-THREE INCHES) in 19 hours!
The problem here is lake effect snow and the lack of sunshine. We are no strangers to snow either.
Also S was only child with no more relatives in Europe or US, so once my 88 yo father passes we have zero relatives here.
I have cousins on both sides in Illinois, and we may move ve there. They have kids/grands who can help us out, and we can leave our estate to them.. keeping in the family so to speak.
Yeah, they winter and bitter cold snaps, but we get that here, and they get way less snow.
The areas we are looking at are comparable in COL to here, so it won't s affordable.
There is no "perfect spot" and once you wrap your head around that..you'll be better off to start with.
Very true. I constantly research for the "perfect spot".
If I were you (and what we are planning on doing, is snow bird around that area (up to 3 hrs away from my cousins And further south, so even better.
Once you've checked out your "wish locations" and decided "yes this year s the place for us to retire to" then proceed with actual moving.
Don't forget to check out the odd things like Costco of water/sewer, car insurance and registration requirements, medical systems.
Being a snow bird a couple of years gives you a chance to get all set up there before you move permanently.
Or you might like snowbirding, but keep in mind heat and security at your current house, as well as the costs of two homes.
We had originally wanted to retire to southern Georgia but have changed our minds.
Also, remember that as you age, heath and aging may become a "line item" as to your comfort level going back and forth...most snow birders I know will eventually have to choose as the trip... driving or flying becomes more difficult.
Be sure that your health insurance needs to be portable..so you have it in new place.
If it looks promising, then find a Dr or hospital that can set you up.
I personally, or we personally, DON'T want beach front, as more weather and ice melting causes rises and flooding issues.
Best as you sort it out.
I guess what do most people think is close to the perfect spot ?
We have known a lot of snow-birds over the years. Many got tired/too old of maintaining 2 homes. They commonly sell the home where they keep the snow shovel.
In Arizona we knew people that were snowbirds without leaving the state. They wintered in the valley near Phoenix and went up to the high country for cool summers. Elevation makes a huge difference in climate.
Florida does not have winters as cool as Arizona, nor summers as hot.
I guess what do most people think is close to the perfect spot ?
Well it depends on what you want. I would go to Idaho or Montana, myself, if I don't stay here. A lot of people like to retire to the Southeast, with Florida being a common destination. Florida has no state income tax. This may or may not matter to you depending on the amount and nature of your retirement income.
For me, the Northeast is out, too expensive, the winter is mostly too severe for my taste. The Midwest, with hot humid summers and cold snowy winters, yet no mountains to ski in, is even worse.
If you are bucks-up, parts of California have an attractive physical climate although the politics there is IMHO even worse than the Northeast (and that took some doing, but they got there)
Texas is a huge state and you can't paint it all with one brush. Again, no state income tax.
Washington where I am now is not bad, particularly not the eastern, dry part of the state. Most people from back east don't even know this part of the state exists. Washington and Oregon are not just Seattle and Portland respectively. Unfortunately those big cities tend to dominate state politics in both states. In my mind I couldn't see moving to Oregon, the eastern half (the only part I would consider) is essentially what I have now but with a state income tax. That said a buddy retired from around here to Portland, and he likes it. Different people have different ideas about what an "ideal" retirement location would be.
Nevada has its charms, as do New Mexico and Arizona. I have been near Phoenix in summer and the heat is something you have to experience to understand, at least I did. But around Prescott I hear the heat is not so bad. One of the attractions of these places is they are dry, but, you will need *some* water and water supply is looking to maybe be bad and getting worse in these states.
You need to decide what you want in terms of a location, and what downsides you are willing to put up with. At the risk of sounding like Dilbert, you could make a spreadsheet. You could list attributes you do or don't like, I personally like to give a higher score to an undesirable attribute, list them and do a RMS summation, with for example several candidate locations listed in the first column and the rows being COL, winter weather, summer weather, serious storms, politics, etc. This is easy to do in Excel. I would recommend a weighting factor, for example maybe you care more about COL than you do winter weather. The origin of the hyperspace (well, that's what you have once you go past 3 attributes) would be "nirvana" with places scoring further from the origin being less desirable.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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I use a weighted spreadsheet for relocation, and also have a tab for LT and ST travel. It's just a tool that takes the emotional subjectivity out. I still use other more important factors to make the final decision.
For LT travel it includes HC access and distance to hub airports, as well as regional CoL and entertainment/ activities I desire. Your can have excel go out and query up-to-date regional fuel and CoL expenses, but you need to add the weighting based on your preferences. It's quite simple and fast. Mine spits out the data for driving w/ hotels, driving minivan and occasionally cooking and camping, driving MH, or Fly / drive using rental cars, or train, or motorcycle. I just enter the region of travel, # of miles, and number of days at destination. Everything else is calculated for me.
For snowbirding it will include RE purchase, transfer, and resale weighting, similar to relocation. My favorite places tend to wash-out in the spreadsheet method, but it shows me why, and I'm cautious when I go against the warnings of practicality, but I often still go and mitigate the risks.
For relocation, my desired top choices lost due to transportation access and costs as I age and may require 5 hr trips to HC treatments. 8 hours to an international airport tanked another location, and another due to RE resell losses if I was forced to sell in a down market. (Energy centric state, where I was stuck in the past with not being able to sell home... For years)
Nothing is perfect or risk free, but you can use information tools, experience, and recommendations to smooth the journey.
Last edited by StealthRabbit; 09-23-2022 at 07:14 AM..
Well it depends on what you want. I would go to Idaho or Montana, myself, if I don't stay here. A lot of people like to retire to the Southeast, with Florida being a common destination. Florida has no state income tax. This may or may not matter to you depending on the amount and nature of your retirement income.
For me, the Northeast is out, too expensive, the winter is mostly too severe for my taste. The Midwest, with hot humid summers and cold snowy winters, yet no mountains to ski in, is even worse.
If you are bucks-up, parts of California have an attractive physical climate although the politics there is IMHO even worse than the Northeast (and that took some doing, but they got there)
Texas is a huge state and you can't paint it all with one brush. Again, no state income tax.
Washington where I am now is not bad, particularly not the eastern, dry part of the state. Most people from back east don't even know this part of the state exists. Washington and Oregon are not just Seattle and Portland respectively. Unfortunately those big cities tend to dominate state politics in both states. In my mind I couldn't see moving to Oregon, the eastern half (the only part I would consider) is essentially what I have now but with a state income tax. That said a buddy retired from around here to Portland, and he likes it. Different people have different ideas about what an "ideal" retirement location would be.
Nevada has its charms, as do New Mexico and Arizona. I have been near Phoenix in summer and the heat is something you have to experience to understand, at least I did. But around Prescott I hear the heat is not so bad. One of the attractions of these places is they are dry, but, you will need *some* water and water supply is looking to maybe be bad and getting worse in these states.
You need to decide what you want in terms of a location, and what downsides you are willing to put up with. At the risk of sounding like Dilbert, you could make a spreadsheet. You could list attributes you do or don't like, I personally like to give a higher score to an undesirable attribute, list them and do a RMS summation, with for example several candidate locations listed in the first column and the rows being COL, winter weather, summer weather, serious storms, politics, etc. This is easy to do in Excel. I would recommend a weighting factor, for example maybe you care more about COL than you do winter weather. The origin of the hyperspace (well, that's what you have once you go past 3 attributes) would be "nirvana" with places scoring further from the origin being less desirable.
Thanks for the ideas. I have never done anything this advanced. I have done something more rudimentary looking at each month but only factoring in my climate preferences. It seems like in this scenario a 3 month snow birding comes out ahead of one fulltime location. But it was close and did not take into account ANY other factors, is obviously subjective and doesn't factor in what do we do as our age advances.
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